Order of Saint Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is a Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of Saint Benedict ("peace" and "pray and work"). The order was founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, and it consisted of several autonomous communities that mostly belonged to the Catholic Church; some Benedictines were members of the Orthodox or Anglican churches. Pope Sylvester II, Pope Paschal II, Pope Gelasius II, Pope Clement VI, and Pope Gregory XVI belonged to the order.